The History of AAA in America
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Times are changing in the professional wrestling business. We are just days away from Worlds Collide, the first show produced by WWE in collaboration with AAA. In the not too distant past, events like this involving WWE would have no chance of taking place. With new ownership and more accessible competition than ever before, WWE has taken the step of purchasing part of that competition in an attempt to gain a foothold in Mexico.
During the WrestleMania pre-show in April, Michael Cole—joined by WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque, Fillip Chairman Alberto Fasja, and AAA’s Marisela Peña and Dorian Roldán—announced WWE’s purchase of Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide.
The Beginnings
The name comes from it’s original title, “Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración de Espectáculos”. This translates to “Attendance, Advisory, and Administration of Spectacles”.
The company was founded in 1992 after Antonio Peña broke away from Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). There, he worked as a booker following his in-ring retirement in 1986. Though he briefly came out of retirement on a few occasions, it was a falling out with CMLL owner Paco Alonso over booking decisions that ultimately led Peña to seek new opportunities. With the backing of television network Televisa, AAA was born.
Over the next few years, the company grew significantly. Many wrestlers followed Peña from CMLL—including Konnan, the man Peña had wanted to push. At the time, Konnan was under contract with WWF and slated to portray the ‘Max Moon’ character. However, he missed several dates, opting instead to wrestle in Mexico for financial reasons.
With the recent overturn of a wrestling TV ban in Mexico City, the scene was booming. Konnan burned bridges with Vince McMahon and earned a negative reputation in America. But, the move paid off—he was soon dubbed ‘The Mexican Hulk Hogan’. Meanwhile, the Max Moon gimmick, eventually handed to Paul Diamond, fizzled out within months.
In addition to that, he scouted far and wide for upcoming talent. Rey Mysterio got his big break in AAA, after being spotted in Tijuana. The annual “Triplemania” events immediately drew record crowds. It took a couple of years for them to be seen as a part of the “big two” with CMLL.
Peña passed away in 2006, leaving the company to his sister Marisela, her husband Joaquín Roldán (who passed away in 2017), and their son Dorian Roldán.
U.S. Collaboration
1994’s “When Worlds Collide” event, which featured AAA talent showcased in the U.S. by WCW, was huge for the company’s profile in America. It was the first time a non-American promotion aired on U.S. pay-per-view. It is also credited by many with popularizing Lucha Libre in the country. Because of this, it’s still talked about today and serves as an inspiration for this weekend’s event. However, it also hurt the promotion in many ways. Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, La Parka, Juventud Guerrera, and Psicosis all went on to leave AAA for WCW.
This was not the only working relationship AAA had in the 1990s though. As a precursor to this weekend in a way, AAA and the then-WWF worked together from late 1996. AAA talents Pierroth, Cibernético, Latin Lover, and the legendary, now WWE Hall of Famer, Mil Máscaras notably took part in the 1997 Royal Rumble match.
AAA also held three dark matches at the event. The collaboration was an effort to capitalize on the large Latin demographic in San Antonio and draw a big crowd to the Alamodome. It worked, as the show became the second-highest paid attendance in U.S. professional wrestling history, with an announced crowd of 60,477. However, the partnership proved to be short-lived and ultimately forgettable.
AAA also worked with TNA Wrestling on-and-off throughout the 2000s. First in 2004 for the World X Cup, and then in 2007 for an event at the Toreo de Cuatro Caminos bullring. This relationship ended when Konnan left TNA and subsequently sued the company for racial discrimination. However, they struck another deal for talent exchange in 2010.
Despite all of these collaborations, the most beloved and iconic presentation of AAA in the U.S. came in 2014.
Enter, Lucha Underground
Lasting four seasons and co-produced by AAA and the El Rey Network, Lucha Underground delivered incredible Lucha Libre with a gritty underbelly. Its storylines and production values felt more like a Netflix series than traditional professional wrestling. Because of this, Lucha Underground remains romanticized by many to this day. It’s a topic worthy of its own article—one I’m sure will come.
The staggering talent roster alone was enough to draw attention, not to mention the unique production. Many staples of Lucha Underground have since become fixtures in WWE or AEW. Penta, then known as Pentagon Jr., was one wrestler who truly made himself a star on the show. It was also the home of his viral match against the Black Lotus Triad—Doku, Yurei, and Hirokiri—better known today as Kairi Sane, Mayu Iwatani, and IYO SKY. This gauntlet match comprised the entirety of Season 3, Episode 13, and is well worth watching.
Lucha Underground’s unique selling point was that they were so vastly different from the status quo in a time where so many fans were disillusioned and looking for an alternative from WWE. They were unapologetically themselves and everything they produced reflected that. It’s a truly iconic show that is always remembered whenever AAA is mentioned.
The Future
After the show ended, AAA attempted to hold a few events in the U.S. with very little success, resulting in minimal involvement in the American market prior to the WWE deal. In recent years, the company had partnered with AEW. We saw Kenny Omega hold the AAA Mega Championship for a time, and wrestling El Hijo Del Vikingo on Dynamite. However, this partnership has faded as AEW’s relationship with CMLL grew stronger. It’s compounded by a very public war of words between Konnan—now part of AAA’s creative team—and Tony Khan.
So what’s next? World’s Collide goes down this weekend and will kick off the new relationship between AAA and WWE. A relationship that will see WWE, along with Mexican entertainment company Fillip acquire the promotion. The deal will be signed in the third quarter of 2025. WWE will own 51% of the company, and Fillip will own 49%. What comes after that is anyone’s guess.
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